Oil Curbs Biggest Weekly Drop Since May on U.S. Jobs, Italian Measures - Bloomberg

Oil rose for the first time in six days in New York and curbed the biggest weekly drop in three months as the U.S. added more jobs than forecast in July and the Italian government said it will speed up austerity measures.

Futures gained 0.3 percent after the Labor Department reported that payrolls rose by 117,000 workers, more than the 85,000 median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of economists. Equities halted the worst slide in more than two years after markets tumbled yesterday amid concern that the economic recovery in the U.S. and Europe is faltering.

“We’re looking for signs of recovery,” said Carl Larry, director of energy derivatives and research with Blue Ocean LLC in New York. “We’re getting a lift from Europe.”

Oil for September delivery rose 25 cents to settle at $86.88 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices tumbled 9.2 percent this week, the biggest drop since the week ended May 6.

Brent crude for September settlement on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange increased $2.12, or 2 percent, to $109.37 a barrel. Brent fell 6.3 percent this week. The European benchmark contract was at a $22.49 a barrel premium to U.S. futures after reaching a record $22.67 on Aug. 2.

Crude swung between gains and losses in intraday trading, with prices touching an eight-month low of $82.87 a barrel on economic uncertainty before rebounding after the U.S. Labor Department reported that employers added more jobs than forecast in the U.S. in July, a signal that fuel demand may increase.
Unemployment Rate

The U.S. jobless rate slipped to 9.1 percent in July from 9.2 percent in June, the Labor Department report showed. Read More